Demanding a better strategy than "find the biggest weapon and blast everything that moves," Thief Gold relies on stealth, wits, and skill to deliver a totally unique adventure thrill. Though it's modelled on the first-person shooters we all know and love, Thief is more accurately described as a first-person sneaker.You play the role of Garrett, a master thief who becomes entangled in a web of lies, double-crosses, and fanaticism. Each of the game's 12 missions is introduced with a montage of images, accompanied by Garrett's cynical comments. After examining a map and coming up with a general plan of infiltration, you select the special tools of your shadowy trade: a sword, blackjack, rope, magic arrows, and sleeping gas bombs are just a few of the toys at your disposal.In this game, it is generally better to knock an opponent out with a sap than risk a fight, or worse, an alarm, and the items are designed with this strategy in mind. Magic water arrows can be used to extinguish torches, creating pools of concealing shadow. Moss arrows create a blanket of soft fungus to deaden footsteps. This subtle change in available equipment makes all the difference; the shift in character from the marauding death machine of most games to silent burglar heightens game tension and adds a tang of adrenaline.The graphics are dark, bland, and moody--perfect for a game set in a damp medieval metropolis. You'll want to play Thief Gold in a quiet room with the lights out, as the faintest footstep or dimmest torch flicker may be just the clue you need to find your prize and escape with your life. In fact, paying careful attention to your surroundings is crucial to success; by eavesdropping on some guards' conversation, you may learn that a passage is trapped, or the location of a key. Clues like these will enable a well-equipped and cunning thief to slip in and out of a target building without being seen, without bloodshed--and with the goods. --Rob Lightner